Various types of barbecue cooking apparatus are known to the applicant. Thus, for instance, apparatus are in existence which comprise grills adapted to contain the meat or other food and which are adapted to be suspended or held above a bed of glowing coals or embers, and to be manually turned so as to alternately expose each of two sides of the food to heat emanating from the bed of coals or embers.
In other types of apparatus, a spit is passed through a piece of meat or other food, and is then suspended between two bearings or supports and rotated continuously be means of an electric motor driving the spit.
Whilst the former type of apparatus presents the problem of it requiring continuous attention from the user, the latter type of apparatus has the disadvantage that the food is continually rotated independently of the temperature of or heat flux from the bed of coals or embers.
There accordingly exists a need for an apparatus which is adapted to utilise heat emanating from the bed or coals or embers and to automatically turn the food from time to time, the duration of its turning cycle to be dependent on the temperature of and/or heat flux from the bed.